By Stephanie Hunt for Travel Curator
Photo by Kjell Holmner., courtesy of Göteborg & Co.
Sweden has many claims to fame: ABBA, Alfred Nobel and his namesake prize, the stark beauty of the Lapland ablaze with the Northern Lights, Stockholm’s design and fashion razzle dazzle, its beloved fika and fish in all forms (pickled, tinned, or sugared in sour gummy candy), but over on its west coast, Sweden’s marvels unfurl more subtly. Equal splendor, less splash. That was my first impression as I zipped up to the 33rd floor of Gothenburg’s hip and contemporary Clarion Hotel Draken for an evening cocktail. Below me, Sweden’s second largest city glowed in soft Vermeer-ish hues — canals and red-tiled roofs spilled out around the historic city center, while remnants of the old Scansen Kronan fortress, though only a few centuries old, gave medieval European vibes. In winter, this view is a twinkling panorama beneath an extended curtain of darkness, but in summer and early fall, the Scandinavian light lingers — burnishing a golden enchantment across the city and surrounding coast.
